Why isn’t Canada making better use of rapid tests for COVID-19 detection?

Why aren’t there more rapid tests? I was convinced that by this point in the pandemic, Canada would be awash in COVID-19 rapid antigen tests, offering us more social and economic freedom.

Early reports on rapid tests were positive, just as they were for vaccines. If we could wait it out, effective vaccines were just around the horizon. And so they are. Rapid tests too were going to be plentiful and cheap — some experts said just a few dollars — giving us peace of mind when we ventured back into life, going to a friend’s house, work or a haircut.

In Germany, this is what’s happening, as rapid testing is prevalent. As the New York Times reported, its government has “bet heavily on testing — as well as vaccines — to beat the pandemic.” There are now 15,000 pop-up testing centres, in unused cafés, nightclubs, and even in the back of bicycle taxis. In a recent Twitter thread, one user confirmed this, saying: “I was in Germany first week of July. They have COVID testing everywhere. I’m not embellishing. On every street corner. You need a vax/ antigen test to eat indoors or go to gyms.”

Rapid tests are here in Canada but not everywhere. They’re predominantly used by workplaces and non-profits, offered by chambers of commerce and government departments. I’ve heard of folks in the film industry that take them often. My daughter works at a summer camp in Quebec where staff are given rapid tests regularly. The other day I heard a Rogers radio broadcaster say it was his first day in studio since March 2020, and he was rapid tested on arrival.

Yay for businesses. We need them to be safe. Summer camps, feature films and sports radio shows depend on it. But how about the rest of us, yearning for safe concerts, meals and playdates? Or schools, especially for younger ages currently ineligible for vaccination. Rapid testing has been offered at some public schools in Ontario, but in nowhere near the numbers as businesses.

Canada’s governments are betting on vaccines as our ticket to freedom, not rapid tests. And while I’m thrilled to be vaccinated and grateful there’s ample supply, we’ll need a very high percentage of the population to be fully vaccinated to really quash this disease. With the Delta variant, those numbers may need to be even higher, according to epidemiologist David Fisman. As a Globe and Mail editorial argued, we may not get there soon, or ever. A large chunk of the population is vaccine hesitant or resistant. That includes younger people, who may be the most reluctant to take the COVID vaccine.

People don’t seem to have the same resistance to tests as vaccines, or even masks. Many who take them realize quickly that, while possibly uncomfortable (although with “short swab” testing, less so), it’s a small price to pay to get a quick response and go about your business.

I realize there is concern rapid tests may give some a false sense of confidence, thinking a test alone is enough to engage in riskier behaviour. After all, that was apparently the strategy of the Trump administration when they held White House gatherings, which turned into outbreaks. I do not suggest rapid tests should replace vaccines or other smart mitigation measures. But they’re another tool, an effective one, to combat this disease.

Take this recent story, of a mother and son who found out they were COVID positive and believe they contracted it from their basement tenant through their house’s ventilation system. They used rapid tests, given by a friend who had some (perhaps through work) to determine their symptoms weren’t just allergies. Rapid tests helped them treat their illness appropriately, to not spread the disease unwittingly, and to alert the news media that this transmission occurred, possibly through the house.

You can get rapid tests, but it is not easy nor cheap. They’re not available over-the-counter in pharmacies, as they are in the U.S. Shoppers Drug Mart offers rapid tests, but they’re administered in store, cost $40, and in select provinces only. After much digging, and contemplation of buying American rapid tests through eBay, one Canadian company I found offers them, in bulk (25 at a time) for about $15 each. Not bad, but frequent use would rapidly put our family in the poorhouse.

Demand for vaccines in Canada has been high, and thankfully we have the stock to meet it. I believe demand for rapid tests for everyone would be equally high, allowing us to move ahead with more freedom and less worry. Now we just need the supply.

I do not suggest rapid tests should replace vaccines or other smart mitigation measures. But they’re another tool, an effective one, to combat this disease.